2023 Municipal Highlights - FINANCE & TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

FINANCE & TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

The Finance Department provides the systems, tools, processes, and personnel to plan, record, and report View Royal’s financial position and operations. This department is instrumental in preparing the annual five year financial plan, financial statements, tax and utility billings, and in ensuring suppliers and employees are paid accurately and on time. The information technology function is responsible for the maintenance and security of electronic information systems and the delivery of technology-enabled projects, including expanding online and electronic billing services.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• The Citizen Budget online engagement tool was open from March 13 to April 2 in conjunction with the publication of the draft 2023-2027 Financial Plan. This informal survey provided information about the five-year financial plan, allowing residents to view the impact of increasing or decreasing various service elements on their property taxes. Results of the feedback from this tool was included in a report to the Committee of the Whole on April 9 in advance of approval of the 2023-2027 Financial Plan.
• In support of the Town’s commitment to financial sustainability, staff partnered with Engineering to prepare View Royal’s first-ever Asset Management Strategy (AM Strategy). The AM Strategy is a roadmap for the development and maintenance of the Town’s Asset Management Program (AM Program). The AM Strategy recommends eight key tasks be undertaken over five years to advance the Town’s AM Program. Successful implementation of these tasks will establish levels of service for all asset classes, enhance data and decision-making on asset management, inform on sustainable long-term financial investments, and foster increased knowledge and awareness of Asset Management principles across the organization. Council took the initial step in implementing the AM Strategy, having resolved that the financial implications of the AM Strategy be incorporated into the draft 2024-2028 Financial Plan for discussion at the February 2024 budget meetings.
• Staff developed, tested, and deployed a new app for View Royal staff to streamline data collection for reporting on non-core and capital project metrics and to monitor project spending compared to the budget. This data feeds the Budget Variance Dashboard available to Council and the public on View Royal’s website, updated weekly. Upon opening the app, the staff member is presented with a list of projects assigned to them and can quickly update the relevant fields such as percent complete and project status. The Projects Update app is built securely on Microsoft’s Power Platform, leveraging existing licensing at no extra cost.
• In October, Information Technology (IT) staff worked with cybersecurity professionals to assess existing technology security measures, vulnerabilities, and potential risks, and developed an Information Security Strategy and Roadmap to guide future technological investments.
• In November, IT staff completed two major projects: the upgrade of multiple servers to replace the end-of-life operating system and implementation of the Teams Phone system.